Bolted valve body construction

ABSTRACT

A valve body construction comprising a tubular body member with a closure received in one end thereof against an internal shoulder or other inward abutment. A thrust ring is also received in the one end of the body member outward of the closure with retainer means locking the thrust ring against outward movement to hold the closure in place. In a preferred embodiment, the retainer means comprises a ring received in the end of the body with a plurality of shear screws threaded into tapped holes around the juncture between the ring and end of the tubular body member.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Austin U. Bryant 3,416,558 12/1968Works 251/315 X Walnut Creek; 3,456,916 7/1969 Ytzen et al... 251/309Jack E. Piccardo, Oakland, both of Calif. 3,460,802 8/1969 Colby etal... 251/315 X [21] Appl. No. 3,735 3,480,253 11/1969 Prese et al.251/315 X [22] Filed Jan. 19, 1970 3,497,178 2/1970 Priese 251/315 X[45] Patented NOV. 30, 1971 FOREIGN PATENTS [73] Assignee Grove Valveand Regulator Company Oakland, Cam. 711,636 7/l954 Great Britain 251/315Primary Examiner-Samuel Scott Attorney-Melvin R. Stidham [54] BOLTEDVALVE BODY CONSTRUCTION 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: A valve body construction comprising a tubular lll Fl bodymember with a closure received in one end thereof [50 FL. 251B 5 g n aninternal Shoulder or other inward abutment A l 1 0 re 454 5 454 thrustring is also received in the one end of the body member outward of theclosure with retainer means locking the thrust [56] Rehnnces Cited ringafgainsjt outgvzgd moyetrlriient :0 hold the closure in place in a preerre em 0 men e re amer means comprises a ring UNITED STATES PATENTSreceived in the end of the body with a plurality of shear screws2,032,623 3/1936 Lewis 25l/309 threaded into tapped holes around hjuncture between h 3,269,692 8/1966 Shafer 251/315 X ring and end fthtubu|ar body b 3,339,887 9/1962 Hutchens 251/315 X Y an I 5 52 7O 34 166 I 42 2f 80 A a: a

h a a 4 if e. 5 W

PATENTEDunv 30 ml SHEET 10F 3 INVENTORS JACK E. P/CCARDO BY flUST/N U.

flTTOKNEY PMENTEU 30 3,624,803

- SHEET 20F 3 INVENTORS JACK E. F/CC/YEWO AusT/N u. 15? YHNT W nk-FmHTTOENE) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a valvebody construction and, more particularly, to a valve body of boltedconstruction.

In some structures, such as gate or ball valves, it has been deemedadvantageous to bolt, rather than weld, at least one of the end closureswith flow passages to the main body member. This, of course, providesgreater access for repair of replacement of internal components.Conventionally, the end closures are held in place by bolts extendingthrough openings therein and threaded into an end face of the body orhousing. This, of course, requires that the bolts be located outward ofthe inner surface of the body and, therefore, results in a substantialbending moment across the closure under internal pressures. In addition,particularly for high-pressure valves, the bolts have to be ofsufficient size and number to withstand the substantial tensile stressesto which they may be subjected. Such stresses are particularly greatduring testing when the valve bodies are subjected to two or more timesthe working pressures for which they are designed. It follows that, asbolt holes are increased in size and number, the body wall thicknesseshave to be greatly increased in order to compensate for the tappedholes.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide abolted valve body construction wherein the end closure fit within atubular body member to minimize the bending moment arm.

It is a further object of the invention to minimize the size of thebolts and reduce the torque required in a bolted valve bodyconstruction.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a load-bearingmember to take internal test pressures without loading the bolts.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bolted valve bodyconstruction wherein the load on the bolts is in shear distributed overthe threads of the bolts.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a valve bodyconstruction with minimum wall thicknesses.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bolted valve endclosure wherein the bolting assembly is independent of the end closure.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe detailed description to follow, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In a preferred embodiment of thisinvention, the main body member is of cylindrical tubular configuration,and circular end closures with flow passages therethrough are receivedin the ends. The end closures are held against an internal shoulder orother inward abutment by means of segmented thrust rings which seat ingrooves around the body outward of the closures. Retainer rings whichhold the segmented thrust rings in place are secured to the valve body.In a preferred embodiment, the retainer ring fits within the valve bodytube with a portion extending within the setmented throat ring. A seriesof holes are bored and tapped around the circular juncture between theend of the body tube and the retainer ring so that the shear screwsreceived in the holes take internal loads in shear distributed overtheir threads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a vertical section view of aball valve embodying features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial end view of the end closure joint;

FIG. 3 is a partial section view of the end closure joint taken alongline 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial section view of another embodiment of the endclosure joint;

FIG. 5 is a partial end view of still another embodiment of the endclosurejoint; and

FIG. 6 is a section view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring more particularly toFIG. I, the ball valve 10 of this invention includes a generallycylindrical main body tube 12 which is bored at the top I4 to receive avalve stem I6 which, in turn, is releasably connected as by means ofsuitable pins 18 to the upper trunnion 20 of a valve ball 22. The upperand lower trunnions 20 and 24 of the ball are rotatably carried in upperand lower bearing blocks 26 and 28, with suitable bushing 30 beingprovided to facilitate rotation thereof. A thrust bearing 32 is providedon the lower bearing block to carry the weight of the ball. The bearingblocks 26 and 28 are held securely in place by firmly clamping a flange34 between an internal shoulder 36 in the main body tube 12 and one ofthe end valve closures 38. Pins 39 define the proper disposition of thebearing blocks 26 and 28. The end closures 38 and 40 are, in turn,firmly secured within the main body tube by means hereinafter to bedescribed in detail. Seat ring assemblies 42 which may contain asuitable resilient seal such as on O-ring 44 are provided to seal onboth the upstream and downstream side of the valve ball 22, with initialsealing engagement being provided by a plurality of coil springs 46biasing them toward the ball. An O-ring 48 is provided around each seatring assembly to seal between the seat ring and the valve closure 38 or40.

The structure thus far described lends itself readily to fabrication inthat with one end closure 38 removed, the bearing blocks 26 and 28 maybe placed on the upper and lower trunnions and the entire assemblyinserted into the main body tube 12. Then, the stem is inserted throughthe top bore 14 and interlocked at 18 with the upper trunnion 20. Then,a gland plate 50 is inserted into an adapter member 52 for an automaticoperator (not shown) and secured in place as by means of capscrews 54.The gland plate 50 carries suitable seals such as O-rings 56 to sealaround the stem and then a larger O-ring 58 may be provided to sealbetween the gland plate 50 and adapter plate 52. Two of the capscrewswhich secure the gland plate in place also function as stops which, incooperation with a stop plate 60 keyed or otherwise secured to the stem,define the open and closed positions of the valve ball 22. When the bodyO-ring 66 is placed and the end closure 38 with seat ring assembly 42included, is inserted into the main body tube and secured in place, theassembly is complete.

The end closures are preferably formed to terminate in a stub pipe duct38a, 40a which provides an overall valve length less than the standard.Then, a flange end 62 or weld end 64 may be selectively placed andwelded to the stubs 38a, 40a to extend the overall length to standard.Hence, the valve may be substantially assembled and then the desiredconnection members welded in place upon receipt of a customers order.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, there is shown a preferred embodiment ofthe end closure joint. As there shown, a groove may be cut around eitherthe end closure 38 or the body tube 12 to provide a recess for asuitable seal such as the O-ring 66 to seal the end closure joint. Theflange 34 on the bearing blocks 26, 28 is clamped between the endclosure and the internal shoulder 36 and the body tube end, in turn,functions as an inner abutment for the end closure 38. A groove 68around the body tube receives a segmented thrust ring 70 which iscapable of taking the load on the end closure 38 even under internalpressures at test level.

The thrust ring 70 is held in the groove 68 by means of a retainer ring72 that has an annular protuberance 74 extending within the segmentedthrust ring 70. Around the circular crack or juncture 76 between theretainer ring and the inner surface of the body tube 12 are a pluralityof tapped holes 78 which are centered on the junction between the twomembers. A radial flange 80 on the retainer ring 72 extends over the endface of the body tube and is of a sufficient width to contain the fulldiameter of the tapped holes 78 so that machining it is not necessary tostart a drilled hole in the crack 76 between the two members. Threadedinto the tapped holes are a plurality of shear screws 82 which securethe retainer ring 72 firmly within the body tube 12 and provideconsiderable resistance to internal pressure by distributing the shearstresses over the total area of the interengaged threads.

The segmented thrust ring 70 is of sufficient cross section to withstandconsiderable interior pressures. Hence, in assembly the segmented ring70 may be placed and the retainer ring 72 inserted to prevent collapsethereof. Then, when the shear screws 82 are threaded in, they arestopped short of engagement with the segmented ring 70 so that the valvetest pressure, which is at least twice the working pressure, may becarried by the segmented thrust ring. After testing, the shear screws 82are fully threaded to clamp the bearing block flange firmly whereby theworking pressures in operation are transferred to the screws.

In order to facilitate reassembly in the event the valve must. bedisassembled, there are preferably provided opposing locking holes inthe retainer ring 72 and end face of the body tube 12 so that a pin 84may be inserted to lock the ring in desired angular position until theshear screws are replaced. It will be noted that the thrust ring 70, theretainer ring 72 and the shear screws are matched to the body tube 12and are independent of the end closures. Hence, end closures may readilybe exchanged.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternate form of retainer ring 88 may beprovide on one or both sides of the main body tube 12. In this case, theclosure joint is sealed as by means of an O- ring 66 and a segmentedthrust ring 70 is inserted into an accommodating internal groove 68 inorder to carry the outward thrust from internal pressures. All of theload is carried by the segmented thrust ring 70 and the retainer ring 88is provided simply to hold the thrust ring 70 in the groove 68 byinsertion of an extension 90 thereon into the thrust ring 70, Theretainer ring may be releasably secured to the end wall of the body tubeas by means of a few widely spaced tack welds 92. All of the load iscarried by the thrust ring 70. A pin 93 may be provided to insure properalignment of the body tube 12, the closure 40iand, hence, the bearingblock 26.

In the embodiment of FIGS. and 6, the segmented thrust ring 94 hasparallel frustoconical inner and outer surfaces 96 and 98 received in anannular recess 100 having converging frustoconical surfaces. A retainerring 102 is secured to the end closure 138 as by means of capscrews 104,to hold the thrust ring 94 in place during assembly and testing. Thenthe thrust ring 94 is firmly engaged by set screws 106, or the like,threaded at an angle with the body tube 112 to force the thrust ring 94firmly against the sloping face 108 of the end closure 138, thusclamping the flange 34 of the bearing block 26 against the internalshoulder 36. Again, the end closure joint may be sealed by means of anO,-ring 66.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with preferredembodiments thereof, it is obvious that modifications and changestherein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A valve structure comprising;

a tubular main body member,

a closure having a flow passageway therethrough received in one endofsaid main body member,

means fomiing an axially inward abutment for said closure,

a recess around said main body member outward of said closure,

a segmented thrust ring in said recess,

a retainer ring received in said one end outward of said thrust ring,and

a plurality of screws on said main body member bean'ng against saidthrust ring to bias it axially outward against said closure.

2. The valve structure defined by claim 1 wherein:

said segmented ring has generally parallel frustoconical inner and outersurfaces, and said screws are threaded through said main body membernormal to the outer surface of said segmented ring.

3. A valve structure comprising:

a tubular main body member,

a closure having a flow passageway therethrough received in one end ofsaid main body member,

means forming an axially inward abutment for said closure,

a groove around the inside of said main body member outward of saidclosure,

a segmented thrust ring received in said groove and extending radiallyinward therefrom to lock said closure against outward displacement,

' a retainer ring received within said segmented ring to prevent radialdisplacement thereof, and

means securing said retainer ring to said main body member.

* i IF

1. A valve structure comprising; a tubular main body member, a closurehaving a flow passageway therethrough received in one end of said mainbody member, means forming an axially inward abutment for said closure,a recess around said main body member outward of said closure, asegmented thrust ring in said recess, a retainer ring received in saidone end outward of said thrust ring, and a plurality of screws on saidmain body member bearing against said thrust ring to bias it axiallyoutward against said closure.
 2. The valve structure defined by claim 1wherein: said segmented ring has generally parallel frustoconical innerand outer surfaces, and said screws are threaded through said main bodymember normal to the outer surface of said segmented ring.
 3. A valvestructure comprising: a tubular main body member, a closure having aflow passageway therethrough received in one end of said main bodymember, means forming an axially inward abutment for said closure, agroove around the inside of said main body member outward of saidclosure, a segmented thrust ring received in said groove and extendingradially inward therefrom to lock said closure against outwarddisplacement, a retainer ring received within said segmented ring toprevent radial displacement thereof, and means securing said retainerring to said main body member.